2023-01-20 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 3 motor vehicle pursuits. He wouldn't say they're often, but it happens. Their definition of a vehicle pursuit is if the driver of the car an officer is trying to stop or pull over is aware that they're attempting to be stopped, but are refusing to do so. Assistant Chief Quiocho wanted to add that motor vehicle pursuit reviews are done separately from a criminal investigation. Resisting an order to stop is a criminal violation, under which the operator of that vehicle can be arrested. Every time there's a pursuit, the officers are required to submit a report relative to the pursuit, and a review is done by the supervisor to make sure it's in accordance with policy. They keep statistics on that and every year annually they submit a report to the police chief on motor vehicle pursuits. They're looking at whether or not the policy needs to be changed, whether or not training is recommended, and if there's equipment available to the officers to limit the number of pursuits that take place. Anytime there's a pursuit, there's a public risk that's at stake. He stated he was the CALEA accreditation manager back in 2014 and they had over 100 pursuits on the Big Island. Out of those 100 pursuits, 50 of them didn't have a review done. They worked with administration, tightened up the policy, and got it to the point now, as Assistant Chief in East Hawaii, he sees fewer pursuits. He sees a lot more use of force taking place than he does motor vehicle pursuits. That tells him that the training is working, the policies are working and they're allowing for better public safety when officers are encountering those situations. There will constantly be people that will take unreasonable risks to prevent being apprehended when they're operating a vehicle, it creates a substantial risk to the public's and officer's safety. Commissioner Bertsch asked him to explain the termination of a high-speed pursuit. AC Quiocho stated a lot of what a police officer does has to do with discretion. Once we start limiting the discretionary powers of police officers, it binds or limits their ability to think outside the box and be able to provide adequate public safety. He had a conversation with someone recently regarding the blue light issue between East Hawaii and West Hawaii, with the blue lights being illuminated more in West Hawaii. There are a lot of nuances with that, that she didn't understand that he was able to explain. He further stated that an officer who is involved in a pursuit, before they decide to turn on lights and sirens and do a chase, they're evaluating a lot of circumstances that involve the chase; what the violation is for, if they can identify the suspect, if there are other means of apprehension besides getting involved in a pursuit. As they're engaging in the pursuit, there are a lot of environmental conditions that are constantly changing depending on the roadway conditions; the weather, the amount of traffic, and whether they're in a school zone. The officer has the discretion to terminate the pursuit, stop immediately, and find some other way to find out who that person was and apprehend them. They invested in officers with training, better policy, and input. What they've done is create a better means by which to record it, justify it, and limit the amount of public risk.